By — Long Li Long Li By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/nyc-protest-solidarity-pro-democracy-hk-protesters Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter NYC protest shows solidarity with Hong Kong pro-democracy movement World Sep 28, 2014 8:36 PM EDT More than 50 people gathered in the Chinatown section of Manhattan on Sunday in solidarity with the pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong that is being described as the worst unrest seen in the region since China took control from Britain in 1997. Protesters in New York City held signs declaring “Students Innocent Against Violence,” and chanted “Hong Kong, democracy! Hong Kong, be strong.” More than 50 protesters acting in solidarity with the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong formed a circle in front of a Confucius statue in Chinatown, Manhattan on Sunday. Credit: Carey Reed/NewsHour Weekend “I woke up this morning at 7:30, hearing about the tear gas in Hong Kong — I didn’t even think it was true,” said Anna Yeung-Cheung, an associate professor at Manhattanville College who coordinated the protest. “Why would you throw tear gas bombs at unarmed civilians?” The Hong Kong protests were peaceful up until Friday, when student-led demonstrators broke through a cordon and scaled a fence to enter the city’s main government compound. Morning and masses still holding out on Admiralty's Harcourt Road #OccupyCentral #OccupyHK pic.twitter.com/LOX13PWXad — Ernest Kao (@ErnestKao) September 28, 2014 By early Monday, in an escalated response, riot police in Hong Kong had advanced on the crowds after deploying tear gas and launching a baton-charge, Reuters reports. “As immigrants, we stay here, we cannot do anything but come here and protest,” said Ray Yue, who participated in the Chinatown protest as her cousins joined the many thousands overseas in Hong Kong. Protesters gathered in front of Confucius Plaza in Lower Manhattan Sept. 28 to show their support for pro-democracy demonstrators who had gathered in Hong Kong over the weekend. Credit: Carey Reed/ NewsHour Weekend Samantha Ng, who was born in New York City but raised in Hong Kong until the age of 10, said she found Beijing’s ruling “sneaky.” Beijing had ruled out open elections for Hong Kong in August. “Hong Kong people will not wait until everything is taken away,” Ng said. “They will say something right now.” By — Long Li Long Li By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Carey Reed assists in covering breaking and feature news for NewsHour Weekend's website. She also helps the NewsHour Weekend broadcast team in the production of the show. She is interested in the flourishing fields of data journalism and information visualization and recently graduated, with honors, from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. @careyereed
More than 50 people gathered in the Chinatown section of Manhattan on Sunday in solidarity with the pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong that is being described as the worst unrest seen in the region since China took control from Britain in 1997. Protesters in New York City held signs declaring “Students Innocent Against Violence,” and chanted “Hong Kong, democracy! Hong Kong, be strong.” More than 50 protesters acting in solidarity with the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong formed a circle in front of a Confucius statue in Chinatown, Manhattan on Sunday. Credit: Carey Reed/NewsHour Weekend “I woke up this morning at 7:30, hearing about the tear gas in Hong Kong — I didn’t even think it was true,” said Anna Yeung-Cheung, an associate professor at Manhattanville College who coordinated the protest. “Why would you throw tear gas bombs at unarmed civilians?” The Hong Kong protests were peaceful up until Friday, when student-led demonstrators broke through a cordon and scaled a fence to enter the city’s main government compound. Morning and masses still holding out on Admiralty's Harcourt Road #OccupyCentral #OccupyHK pic.twitter.com/LOX13PWXad — Ernest Kao (@ErnestKao) September 28, 2014 By early Monday, in an escalated response, riot police in Hong Kong had advanced on the crowds after deploying tear gas and launching a baton-charge, Reuters reports. “As immigrants, we stay here, we cannot do anything but come here and protest,” said Ray Yue, who participated in the Chinatown protest as her cousins joined the many thousands overseas in Hong Kong. Protesters gathered in front of Confucius Plaza in Lower Manhattan Sept. 28 to show their support for pro-democracy demonstrators who had gathered in Hong Kong over the weekend. Credit: Carey Reed/ NewsHour Weekend Samantha Ng, who was born in New York City but raised in Hong Kong until the age of 10, said she found Beijing’s ruling “sneaky.” Beijing had ruled out open elections for Hong Kong in August. “Hong Kong people will not wait until everything is taken away,” Ng said. “They will say something right now.”